Ramen Jinya 陣家

There are a few well known ramen restaurants in Downtown Vancouver such as Kintaro for their fatty soup bases, large portions and tender chashu; Santouka for their creamy and velvety rich broths; Motomachi for their innovative twist on ramen; and Taishoken which serves above average ramen. However, apparently Ramen Jinya joins the list as well because there is always a line up! I have never lined up for more than twenty minutes at Kintaro or Santouka, but I waited thirty five minutes to see what the fuss is about with Ramen Jinya.

There is a self service wait list outside of the restaurant which is based on an honorary system and I highly doubt anyone would cross the names of other people on the list. As for the interior, the seating arrangements are fairly comfortable when compared to other ramen restaurants because there are more individual tables than communal, which is great for those who like to have a larger personal space. With regards the service, the staff were friendly and non-rushed despite having a line up.

Motomachi Shokudo 元町食堂

Located a few doors from Kintaro and sister to the restaurant, is Motomachi Shokudo. Motomachi Shokudo focuses on "healthier" ramen by using organic ingredients (chicken, egg and vegetables) and even offers bamboo charcoal which is known to absorb toxins from the body. Our first choice was actually Kintaro but the restaurant was temporarily closed for a few days.

When we walked in, the restaurant was not busy and fortunately there was no line up! There was also no greeting from the kitchen or the front of the house staff, which is odd for a ramen joint. Motomachi Shokudo has a relaxing and comfortable atmosphere, and the restaurant is not cramped compared to other ramen joints. There are three small tables, one communal, and even hooks along the concrete wall to hang purses.

Kintaro Ramen 金太郞

Kintaro has been my go-to ramen restaurant ever since I was in high school. The ramen shop offers a rich, medium or light broth and a choice of fatty or lean barbecue meat. In addition, asides from the basic ramen choices such as shoyu, shio and miso, Kintaro offers a spicy garlic, vegetable, and cheese ramen as well. Tsukemen is also available but only during the months of summer.

Like other ramen restaurants, Kintaro has plenty of bar seats, one communal table and a few tables for two. Long line ups are usually expected too but on my countless visits, I have only had to line up once which was a short fifteen minute wait!

Ramen Koika

Driving along Davie Street for a 9:00pm dinner, none of the restaurants really interest me. Sushi? Um… well, after trying the whole "visiting new restaurants" kind of thing, I discovered that some restaurants do not always serve fresh toro sashimi (Sushi Bella, Hi Dozo, Ginza Sushi and Sushi UOmo). How have I gotten away with 20 years of always having fresh toro sashimi until a few months ago, when the experience has happened more than a few times! Anyways, with sushi out of the question along with Greek (yeah, like I will risk having dry roast lamb…), donairs and Montreal cuisine, I guess ramen it was!

Ramen Koika is the newest addition to join the West End and the chefs have travelled to Chiba, Tokyo and Osaka to master ramen. Okay, they may have mastered the noodles but not the broth. The restaurant offers both chicken as well as pork soup bases, and the prices are cheaper than most ramen joints.

Walking in, Ramen Koika is the most spacious ramen joint that I have been to. There are plenty of bar seats available and a few tables at the back. The interior is spacious as well as comfortable and if anything, there was no loud welcoming from the kitchen along with the waitresses like at almost every ramen joint.

Since we arrived during last call, the both of us went for a bowl of ramen and passed on a side of donburi. I hate the feeling of keeping the staff behind just to clear our table! As we were waiting for the food, I could not help but notice a waitress using her hand to grab seaweed for the ramens. Asides from my personal OCD issues, it is basically just sanitary principles. Front of the house staff should not be touching food with their hands, considering they wipe down tables and deal with cash.

Kamamarui Ramen & Don

Going for ramen can be good or bad. To some, a hot bowl of ramen fills the tummy and does the job. However, there are others who do not bother trying certain ramen joints because they hate settling for mediocre. Without stating which category I belong in, it is safe to say that homemade ramen is obviously the best. Well, isn't homemade food always the best? Furthermore, since the profit margin for ramen is very high, why shouldn't people be selective? 

Kamamarui is a small ramen joint that is located in Burnaby. The restaurant has less than eight tables available and the interior is fairly clean (more than the utensils). The interior looks simple and is not cluttered. There are dog tail hooks along the wall as well as the menu, and chalkboards by the counter. As for the menu on the wall, I kind of struggled because I have bad eyesight and my contacts were dry that day lol.

Hokkaido Ramen Santouka

On the day we tried out Marutama, the choice was actually between there or Santouka! What I really like about Santouka are the plastic displays at the front of the restaurant. The plastic displays of pretty much every item on the menu, includes the price along with a description. In addition, what you see is what you get, honestly.

As usual like at many ramen restaurants, the staff was cheerful, welcoming and friendly when we walked in. In addition, the seating arrangements are tight as expected. However, Santouka has one of the most comfortable seating arrangements out of many ramen joints, especially for those who sit at the half booth seats. Furthermore, the front of the restaurant has communal tables for larger parties or to share, and bar seats are available as well.

Taishoken Ramen 大勝軒

After grabbing a snack at Pourhouse, we headed to Tinseltown to pick up sunglasses. On the way there, we noticed an extremely long line up outside of a ramen restaurant, Teishoken. As it turns out, people were lining up to try a newly opened ramen joint while taking advantage of a great promotional value, $5.00 for a bowl. This is a great marketing strategy; lose a little, gain a lot.

As two hours passed, yes, two, it was finally our turn. In general, I would never line up for any restaurant but because my schedule is extremely busy with business, working out and making sure my dogs get enough exercise, I considered the two hours as a time for me to "relax". Sad, but true. Taishoken was offering three types of ramen, shoyu (soy sauce), shio (salt) as well as miso, and we went for the miso along with the shio.

On every table, chilli pepper, pepper, chilli oil, vinegar and soy sauce is provided on the side. As for the interior, the table as well as chairs are all wooden and like most ramen joints, diners can peak into the kitchen. The kitchen has an organized assembly line with a cook cooking the noodles, another dealing with the chashu and one adding the broth. As for the seating arrangements, there are window seats to shared tables, and half booth seats.

Marutama Ra-men

Four days of consistent bad luck : Day four Part I.

Are business owners really that spoiled and think it is easy to make money nowadays?

What is worse than a bad Japanese restaurant? A Japanese owned restaurant with legitimate Japanese staff, located in an area with a dense population of international Japanese students, that does not serve very good Japanese food.

Marutama is different than some ramen joints because they focus on a chicken broth rather than pork, or a mix. Also, fried garlic, sesame seed and Korean chilli flakes are provided on every table. As for the interior, the restaurant has one large table, a few seats in the centre, and two counters. 

In addition, due to the lack of table space, the ramen joint offers a plastic bin for customers to keep their personal belongings in. Although do not to leave your belongings unattended, as there is a sign posted as a reminder as well!